The photos in this gallery document my studio process for M501/M502.
The images begin in September 2014 with the loose leaf Journal-Pages and continue to the most recent work exploring images generated through Twinning.
To view the images from oldest to most recent scroll down. Text elaborating on the process, the thoughts and the images can be found here in this side column, though not in-line with the actual image, but following the general order of the images, with the approximate image number range referenced.
This gallery serves as a general documentation of the various stages and approaches I have taken this year in the works I’ve produced; specifically the Journal-Pages, and works which did not necessarily result in completed Self Portraits, by which I mean Wanderland, Look In Glass, Just Between Me and You, Index, Self Reflective and Twinning. The process documentation for those completed Self Portraits can be found in the gallery dedicated to each particular piece.
Approximately the first twenty-five images in this gallery refer to the creation of Journal-Pages. What became apparent to me while working on this loose leaf journal was that I tend not to always start nor end a piece in the same way. Even pieces which might find similar resolutions may not have followed similar paths to that point. Yet even in pages with very different beginnings, middles and endings a common, uniting factor is found.
I do not have actual wall space in my studio, which consists of a greenhouse with 20 foot slanted ceiling and a walk out basement space. Therefore I have a large piece of plywood which I use on an easel to tape or to pin sheets of paper, and eventually un-stretched canvas, in order to work on them in an upright position as opposed to flat.
The pages were created on 11 inch x 14 inch/27.5 cm x 35 cm sheets of Bristol paper or vellum. Sometimes, but not always the paper was taped to the plywood. I often change the orientation I am working the piece by turning and flipping the plywood board. At 3/4 inch, 5 foot square this becomes a very physical act, and pushes the limit on what I can comfortable hold in my arm span and turn.
After working a piece a while in the upright position I often removed it from the easel in the greenhouse and completed the work in a flat position on a table in the basement portion of my studio.
The materials I used in the Journal-Pages were an assortment of colored pencil, pencils, pens, acrylic, watercolor and gouache paints, enamel paint markers, oil crayons, collaged papers, and stitched threads. For me a big part of this work was the exploration through reintroduction of materials and processes I had not been recently using in my studio practice. The introduction of the machine stitched mark was the biggest change, as was the puncturing of the paper’s surface with the unthreaded needle. The use of layering of various papers, most notably the play between the weight of the Bristol and the light, semi-transparency of the vellum was an additional area of exploration which has fed into my M502 explorations documented later in this gallery.
The explorations with materials was not limited to the Journal-Pages, but also occurred in the Sketchbook. Images 6, 7 and 8 show a sketchbook page consisting of a cut-out form from a drawing/painting done in the "World As Sculpture" workshop August 2014 in Berlin. After gluing the figure onto the sketchbook page I then drew and painted around it. I worked on this piece in a vertical [portrait] orientation at this point and photographed it in the same orientation. Images 7 and 8 shows how the page ended, with more paint, colored pencil, collage elements, duct tape. I had continued working on it in a vertical orientation. All my sketchbook images were posted in a horizontal [landscape] orientation.
Usually I begin one piece at a time, although I might be working on multiple pieces at once. Images 9 through 25 document how I worked a group of pages beginning together and ending as separate works. October 3, 2014 I began six pieces together by taping three sheets of Bristol paper and three sheets of vellum to the plywood and worked them as a single piece. I knew at some point I would remove all the sheets from the plywood, possibly continue working on them as individual pieces to a point of resolution in the basement studio. Yet because they are part of the loose leaf journal, which I have defined as being a single work, they will rejoin each other as part of a unified piece upon completion of the journal. The second step of this journey was to add the labyrinth into the piece, followed by layers of acrylic paint, with Image 12 showing the final layer before removing them from the board so they can be worked individually. Image 14 shows some of the tables I work on in the basement studio. The six paintings begun as one on the easel were all continued in this space as well as at the sewing machine located in the greenhouse studio. Images 15 thru 25 are the six journal pages begun as a single piece in their resolved stages. All the pages ended up being worked as double sided pieces, which made the one piece to six pieces to twelve pieces which will be rejoined as one completed piece.
The act of writing as a physical, mark-making part of my work is documented in Images 26 thru 40. I have always written a great deal while I work in my studio, but during the period from mid-October to mid-November I became more aware how much I actually write and the way writing works itself into my visual art.
Sometime around mid-October I realized I had not included any detail photographs of the loose leaf journal pages, so that is what Images 41 thru 56 are. An important part of the experience of the Wanderland and Just Between Me and You pieces is the ability to hold these pages and study them closely, focusing on the details. So here is a closer look at selected parts of a selected few.
As part of my project proposal I wrote my intention to brush up my silkscreen skills and become familiar with the facilities of the print shop at a local arts organization. On November 23, 2014 I took part in a one day Silkscreen Workshop @ AS220. Images 57 thru 62 are from the workshop. This first image shows the preparation of drawing the images on transparency with a Permapaque marker. I decided to hand draw/trace the images just as I have been doing in the journal pages instead of digitally altering and printing them to create the transparencies, the tactic taken by the other workshop participants. I made screens of both version of the Knight chess figure which I had been using in the Journal-Pages. Throughout the winter I have incorporated some of the prints in other explorations.
Images 63 thru 78 depict the format of the notes I used for my presentation at Winter Residency 2015. Throughout the fall I had been thinking about how to present what I had been up to in the studio. In Berlin I felt thrown into giving a traditional, rather boring and hard to understand presentation of the paintings I had done in the past four years and which are viewable on my professional website. I really had no desire to repeat that experience. Because I would bring actual work to NYC, and had been exploring various ways of presentation, I thought I should use this as an opportunity to play and explore with that traditional presentation format. I am not comfortable speaking extemporaneously, but did not want to project Power Point slides with text. Instead I printed the text slides for myself and placed them in a small black binder, incorporating an image of myself in the Look In Glass on the front cover and title page as a personal visual prompt. In the days and hours leading up to the presentation I made handwritten notes on these pages. The presentation itself was to end with the slide which simply reads “Questions?”, however I made additional pages with source notes, etc. as I had not yet decided what format I wished to use for the Questions and Feedback. I did not decide to simply listen and not respond to the questions and feedback until the morning of the presentation. The following photos are the pages of this binder-presentation. An interesting comment from one of the viewers was how the action of me flipping through the binder echoed the folding and flipping of the images being projected on the wall behind me. I had not consciously thought of this before, but being made aware of it has raised my overall awareness to the potential of details such as this.
Image 79 is a video of the first 5 minutes of my presentation on January 12, 2015 at the Winter Residency in New York City.
Post-Residency I have continued to do the occasional work on paper, seen in Images 80 thru 93, and Images 186 thru 190, however these pieces remain untitled, do not form a series or self portrait, and are not part of either Journal-Pages or Index. In some ways these pieces were created as a ‘slow drip’ after the faucet has been shut off, in other ways they were a diversion while I re-grouped and re-focused after Winter Residency. Upon returning from NYC I began to focus more on the paper I would be writing over the next few months, continuing reading and research activities, and thinking about the next few self portraits in the series. These works on paper were created using left over pieces of paper intended for other pieces, essentially from scraps. Perhaps these are in their own way sketches of self portrait, reflecting the part of personal identity created out of the bits and pieces that remain after the major components have been formed. Could be something to explore further…
When I returned from NYC I not only continued my explorations with works on paper, but I began playing with works on canvas as a means of re-entering a more traditional approach to painting, Images 90 thru 100 and Images 171 thru 185. Continuing in the spirit of exploration, play and incorporating remnants of the previous months pieces, black felt, tulle, crochet thread, sparkly vinyl, I took out needle and thread and began stitching again. In one work I cut the center section out of a pre-stretched canvas and stitched into the void a collaged vellum piece. I explored attaching mirror and fabric along with collage, photo-prints on canvas, and other paper-based mixed media pieces into the canvas. None of these pieces do I consider to be finished as of May 2015, but I do plan to continue working on them. One area I’d like to explore is how they are presented, as both sides are worked, they remain very two dimensional, and often benefit from the play of light. I have considered ways of hanging them close to, yet away from the wall, with a mirror hung on the wall behind in order to view the back side of the canvas via the reflection, although at an odd angle. I’ve also considered the addition of a base or foot so that the canvases become sculptures. Again, this body of work leaves much open for further exploration.
An element I wanted to explore was the photo-print on canvas. I have never ordered a canvas print before but was pleased with both the image color and quality. The cost per print [8 inches x 10 inches on un-stretched canvas] including shipping was under $20US. I ordered four prints and have worked with them in the canvas pieces mentioned above. Images 101 thru 104 show the prints and some ways I began using them. I have included the source photo in this group of images for reference. It can also be found in the M502 Self Reflective gallery.
Images 105 thru 110 show some explorations I have conducted using reflections and fractals with mirrors framing works on paper and existing canvases. During February 2015 I also explored the role our reflected image plays in our personal definition of self. This work has developed in large part out of the explorations with the mirrors used in both Look In Glass and Index as well as the current light conditions in my home-studio, which is very different in the winter. The brightness of the winter light in New England, intensified by the heavy pack of snow this winter in particular increased the refraction. The increased reflections in framed pictures and shiny surfaces made me think about and reconsider how in the framing of artworks behind non-reflective museum glass, usually justified on grounds of conservation to filter out UV, protect from debris and fine-particles, to keep the object preserved in a state of eternal freshness, also prevent the viewer's self or the surrounding space reflected back into the piece. To keep it in a pure and ideal state perhaps? I have a number of works I've done throughout the years framed behind standard glass and plexiglass hung in my home. Along with the experiments I have been doing photographing my paintings and drawings and myself in mirrors and mirror boxes I began to photograph my reflection in these older works. The photos are all done with my iPhone and edited using the basic tools on the phone or computer, mostly I just crop the image. Some of these images form the self portrait series in the M502 Self Reflective gallery. Although I consider this a completed self portrait in the series per my project proposal, I am still considering how I might use theses images beyond the virtual realm. I have had the one image printed multiple times on canvas and I have begun to work-over it. Perhaps they will find a place as standard printed photographs, maybe framed behind glass. In the studio this winter and spring I have also been exploring the use of mirror frames for some paintings on canvas which I will exhibit this coming June 2015 in Providence, RI.
The mirror used as a framing device serves as a unifying element for the presentation of the works, addresses the relationship between the viewer, the work and the space in which the work exists, both actual and reflected. With the exception of the canvas shown in Images 111 thru 127, all of the canvases which will be a part of the exhibit at AS220 were produced between 2010 and 2013; and all of the pieces are to be considered single works, or rather individual objects as opposed to only elements of a greater whole.
The significance for me as to why the individual canvases remain just that, individual, within the greater piece which is the installation/presentation of the works, is two-fold. The first being that unlike the images produced for the previous works, these canvases were never meant to be a group, or series. They were created as individual works and remain such. Second, by having them retain their nature as individual objects it allows me to explore the nature and role of the frame as it relates to the installation/presentation of the paintings within the context of the mirror-reflective image of self.
These images are from a mock up of a mirror frame I have been working with in the studio. At present the idea is to cover the non-reflective, exterior surfaces of the mirrors with canvas which I will then either gesso or paint white so that the sides blend in with the gallery walls. [As of May 2015 I altered this and will have the exterior surface also be mirror.] Smaller canvases, 12 inch square or less, will be framed on all four sides. Larger square canvases will only have mirrors on the vertical sides. The depth of the mirrors in the smaller pieces will remain at ratio which forms a cube with the canvas. Shown are 12 inch square canvases with 12 inch square mirrors. Larger canvases will not retain this ratio, but will have at minimum a mirror depth of 12 inches. [The exact mirror plan has been changed greatly in regard to size and number of mirrors, and their location since these photos were originally posted. Photo documentation of the finished pieces will be available August 2015, perhaps included in my Berlin presentation.]
The scale of the mirror frames and paintings, and whether the mirrors completely frame or leave the canvas open are of importance for how the viewer can access the painting. By completely enclosing the smaller paintings they will be for the most part hidden within plain sight in the gallery space. The viewer will only be able to see the painting inside the frame on a direct approach. Because the pieces are small it will also be difficult for more than a single viewer at a time to closely examine a painting. Finally, the completely framing of the smaller works by mirrors of the same dimension of the canvas prevents the viewer from looking completely into the box, seeing all the angles which are implied, but remain unseeable. This adds a level of frustration to the viewers experience. On the other hand, the larger canvases because they are not completely boxed in remain to a much closer degree approachable. The canvases, which due to the size and openness of the framing are a bit more viewable throughout the gallery space, and hopefully draw viewers closer in to examine the details. Should the viewer step within the 12 inch space in front of the canvas he or she will then catch a glance of the infinite extension of the painting in the horizontal space created by the mirrors in his or her peripheral vision. Standing in this space will also place the viewer's reflection within this never ending painting, the fractal.
The canvases I am using most tend toward a stronger pattern and less of a figurative/narrative as the subject. This allows for a greater kaleidoscopic experience of the painting within the mirror, which in turn strengthens the visual and cerebral encounter of the viewer with the painting.
Images 111 thru 127 show a new painting on stretched canvas begun in the fall, but put on hold. In February I continued to work on the canvases I began in January, incorporating collage elements, stitching and cutting into the canvases; I also returned to my easel and this other canvas with the intention that it might find its place in the exhibit this June. Because of the extreme cold we had been experiencing it was difficult some days to work more than 10-15 minutes at the easel. Other days, when the sun shined, there is no better place to be. I used the enamel paint marker quite extensively in this painting as it neared completion. I also brought the writing into it more physically via collage of a letter written on vellum into the neon pink and the icy blue forms. Some of the images show the letter pre-collage taped to the studio windows in front of piles of snow.
Not only did I play around with pre-stretched canvas, I also began work on a piece of un-stretched canvas of a larger format, Images 128 thru 170. I began this piece in mid-March. Wanting to make a more portable, yet larger painting on canvas I eliminated the stretcher bars, and tacked a piece of raw canvas approx. 72 cm x 120 cm to my drawing board. After applying some gesso I wrote a stream of conscious letter using a black permanent marker to the canvas. Throughout this painting I turn the drawing board and work from all directions. I applied multiple layers of thin, washy acrylic paint. After adding the layers of paint I once more wrote a letter on the canvas, this time using an enamel paint marker. I then proceeded to introduce forms and additional layers of paint. After additional layers of words, paint and generic forms, I began to bring in forms such as the chess board, the knight figure on the horse, the ribbon and the storm, as well as the drawn as opposed to the written line; all in an attempt to reconnect to imagery used in Journal-Pages. Words began to flesh out the forms as I wrote another letter in silver acrylic paint within the silver storm shapes. After developing the base painting I added a layer of black tulle and red thread, three shades of red, to the painting, again attempting to reconnect with the pieces created in the fall. I had considered stitching the tulle and canvas together, but decided to remain a bit more flexible by using sliver binder clips, remnants from Wanderland, around the edges as a frame to hold the two materials together. While I was away from the studio for a few days traveling I thought a lot about the base painting and how I hoped for it to engage in a more integrated way with the tulle layer. When I returned to the studio I took the tulle layer off and began painting some more on the base painting. My first step was to blend the harsh forms and eliminate the knights on horseback via a wispy wash of spring green acrylic. I still wanted to bring the knight form into the base painting. I had been writing a letter on pieces of vellum during my trip so I used those pieces for the knights. During the collage process a black line was drawn around the taped on knight with permanent marker. A few days later I went back to painting. First I decided to designate the Knights as opposing players. Writing also reentered the painting at this stage. Unlike the previous writings which were stream of conscious writings, this was a single phrase which was written in various directions, sizes and intensities across the canvas with a black permanent marker. After the writing previously painted forms which were obscured by subsequent layers regained prominence through an additional layer of color. I continue to work the canvas from all directions. Detail was added to the blue circles which had all but disappeared through the addition of a yellow enamel line. Once more the words and figures are suppressed under a unifying layer of paint. Although I have added the tulle back, using even more binder clips, and stitching further into the top layer, I am not yet to where I would call this piece finished. For me I think the biggest part of this piece has been returning to working with paint. But the possibilities of dimensionality brought forth by the stitched tulle remain an interesting, open path to follow.
Images 171 thru 185 are a continuation of Images 90 thru 104. Important for me to point out is the development of the incorporation of the photo-print on canvas pieces. On print canvas I trimmed the white edge from and incorporated into a piece, taking a pre-stretched canvas approx. 40 cm x 50 cm, stretching a piece of black felt to the back side. The edge of the felt was left intentionally uneven. The back, or rather front of the blank canvas will eventually be worked as a painting. To the front of the felt I stitched the photo printed canvas using red crochet thread. After the photo was in place I began stitching a piece of black tulle with the red thread to the felt in a manner similar to that of the blanket I created for the piece Look In Glass.
Images 186 thru 190 are a continuation of the work on paper in Images 82 thru 89.
While visiting NYC in early April I picked up the book A Face to the World: On Self-Portraits by Laura Cumming, 2009 HarperPress. By this point I had begun formulating the direction my Year Two project will be taking and began a more intentional exploration of self portraits and identity in my reading. In response to the second chapter of this book, “Eyes”, I took a small series of photos of my eyes while thinking of various feelings and emotions I wished to convey. I also took one photo of my mouth attempting the same. Images 191 thru 196.
The remaining Images 197 thru 232 document my most recent studio explorations and serve as a segue from the first year project to second. Using the photo self portrait series Twinning as a starting point I began playing with a few of the more abstract, less representational images in a simple page layout program. Pasting four of the photos together virtually on a page, mirroring and flipping the images so that a new image is formed through this fracturing that is less of a breaking a part but more a process of building together to create a new whole. I then printed these pages on matte photo paper. The next step along the path was to begin painting, exploring how the image is once again altered and developed into a new wholeness via the artist’s hand and brush. At present these painted explorations are occurring on sheets of Bristol and Vellum. My intention is from now until I leave for Berlin to continue these explorations and see where they lead. I do have a three-person exhibit scheduled in 2016 at a local private gallery I work with in Providence and it is my intention to produce a few new canvases from these Twinning images for that exhibit. I would also like to focus the studio work for my second year project on the production of four larger self-portrait paintings based on the Twinning explorations, most likely on paper or un-stretched canvas which I will bring to Berlin in 2016.